Friday, April 17, 2009

" And Now For Something..."




I've always loved the little "Capri Girl" portrait by Sargent, so I decided to make a copy. I started with a pencil block-in, and then a transfer and a wipe-out underpainting. It's a very subtle painting and I had to squint way down to find the value separations, or bed bug line. The model reminds me a little bit of my wife when she was younger and she has this look of confident pleasure. Pleased that the artist is painting her and pleased that she's so beautiful that the artist desired to paint her. It's different from anything else he had done up until that time or would ever do again. It's got a bit of the "academie" about it but also the confidence of a young artist who knows he's "arrived". I'm looking forward to painting it and hopefully it'll extend my learning curve.

No comments: